"Riot On the Sunset Strip" by Dominic Priore, published
in 2007 in the U.S. and U.K. by Jawbone Press, is about that
brief but magical time in the mid-60s on the Sunset Strip.
I did some hanging out there as a teenager and have some great
memories about it the book brought back to life.
Although most of the emphasis is on the Sunset Strip, it
also covers the music scene in Southern California in
general. Priore gets into the black music in South Central
L.A., the surf music coming out of Orange County, and the
Chicano music scene in East L.A. He even writes about
bands from San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and other Southern
California locales. What unifies it all is that special
time period. The British Invasion was new and in full
swing and folk rock was taking off. On the Sunset Strip
Dylan was jamming with the Byrds and bands like the Doors,
Love, and Buffalo Springfield were breaking new ground.
It was an exciting time before the hippie movement, the psychedelic
era, and the escalation of the Viet Nam War. One of
the things I found particularly interesting in the book is
the history of the Sunset Strip going back to the turn of
the 20th century. That was information that was new
to me.
The part of the book most relevant to my website is
contained in the chapter, "The Roots of Los Angeles Rock
& Roll." Part of the chapter gives some space
(about six pages) to what was happening in East L.A. with
Chicano musicians of the era. He gives some information
on Eastside artists such as Cannibal & the Headhunters,
the Premiers, the Blendells, and Thee Midniters, who had national
hits. Early pioneers Ritchie Valens and Chan Romero,
Little Julian Herrera, Chris Montez, and my dad, Lalo Guerrero
are also mentioned. The Rhythm Rockers from Orange County
also are covered. This band headed by the Rillera
brothers, was a launching pad for the Righteous Brothers and
Richard Berry, who wrote "Louie Louie" based on
Rene Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha Cha," a song he first
heard played by the Rhythm Rockers. The Romancers and
the Mixtures, two early 60s "Eastside Sound" bands also get
some well-deserved attention in the chapter. East L.A.
promoters Billy Cardenas and Eddie Davis are also mentioned,
as well as disc jockeys Godfrey and Huggy Boy, who played
the "Eastside Sound" locally on the radio airwaves. I'm
mentioned in regards to my East L.A. bands of the period,
Mark & the Escorts, who recorded two singles for GNP Crescendo
Records in 1965, and the Men From S.O.U.N.D. The Jaguars
with the Salas Brothers, Ronnie & the Casuals, the Sisters,
the Enchantments, and Little Ray Jimenez are also mentioned,
Little Ray getting the most attention. Dominic also
talks about Chicano bands who were playing on the Sunset Strip
in the mid-60s, such as Tony, Vic & Manuel, Jim Doval
& The Gauchos, and Pat & Lolly Vegas, who later gained
national fame with their 70s band, Redbone. I had never
heard of the first two of these bands and they were apparently
very good and were pretty high profile on the Hollywood scene.
Tony, Vic, and Manuel recorded an album for Reprise Records,
played at Gazzarri's night club, and performed often on the
popular television show "Hollywood A Go Go."
They also backed up Jan and Dean on their 1963 album, "Surf
City." Jim Doval & the Gauchos played at the
Crescendo night club on the strip and appeared on the
national television show, "Shindig." Some of the
people interviewed for the section on the East L.A. music
scene were Rick Rosas, former Mark & the Escorts member and now
Neil Young's bassist; Billy Cardenas, East L.A. manager and
record producer; and Gene Aguilera, record collector, songwriter,
and current manager of Little Willie G.
This book is of special interest to me, not only because of
the part about Chicano musical artists and the East L.A. music
scene, but because I also personally experienced and loved
the music scene that was happening in Hollywood and the Westside
in general at that time. I liked a lot of the artists
of the period such as the Byrds, the Doors, Love, and particularly
Buffalo Springfield, who are my second favorite band of all
time after the Beatles. I also saw many great bands
perform in person such as the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl
and Dodger Stadium, the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Sports
Arena, the Young Rascals at the Cheetah in Venice, the
Beach Boys(at the Whiskey, and Buffalo
Springfield at Cal State L.A. and Long Beach Arena.
I also frequented Pandora's Box, The Experience, The Whiskey
a Go Go, Gazzarri's, Ciro's, and other clubs on the Sunset
Strip. Later in the decade I performed at Gazzarri's
with my band, the Men From S.O.U.N.D. in 1968 and in the
early 70s at The Roxy with my band Tango, who recorded for
A&M Records. The mid-60s were a seminal and magical
time in rock history, even more so having experienced it in
my mid-teens when one is so impressionable and in the process
of coming of age. I feel very fortunate to have been
there not only to witness it, but to be playing music in bands
at the time. The author is passionate about the subject
of his book and did an incredible amount of research.
He also interviewed around 200 people who were part of the
scene. "Riot On the Sunset Strip" is a great
book with lots of detailed information, great archival photos,
a cartoon-like map of relevant Hollywood landmarks called
"Rock & Roll Hollywood 1965-66," and a forward
by the legendary singer of the band Love, Arthur Lee.
Dominic Priore has done a great service for us all in documenting
this historic and exciting period in the history of rock &
roll.
Updates
On September 8, 2007, Dominic invited me to speak at a book
signing/lecture at Vroman's Book Store in Pasadena, California.
Click here to read my article about
the event, which includes a photo gallery.
On February 24, 2008, I was a guest on Dominic Priore's
"Riot on the Sunset Strip" radio show, which plays
music from the 50s and 60s. I was interviewed and we
played my recordings on the 60s by my bands Mark & the
Escorts, the Men From S.O.U.N.D., and Nineteen Eighty-Four,
in addition to recordings by Lil' Julian Herrera, Ritchie
Valens, the Romancers, Cannibal & the Headhunters, the
Premiers, the Blendells, and others. Click
here
to hear the show.
"Riot On the Sunset Strip" by Dominic Priore, published
in 2007 in the U.S. and U.K. by Jawbone Press, is about that
brief but magical time in the mid-60s on the Sunset Strip.
I did some hanging out there as a teenager and have some great
memories about it the book brought back to life.
Although most of the emphasis is on the Sunset Strip, it
also covers the music scene in Southern California in
general. Priore gets into the black music in South Central
L.A., the surf music coming out of Orange County, and the
Chicano music scene in East L.A. He even writes about
bands from San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, and other Southern
California locales. What unifies it all is that special
time period. The British Invasion was new and in full
swing and folk rock was taking off. On the Sunset Strip
Dylan was jamming with the Byrds and bands like the Doors,
Love, and Buffalo Springfield were breaking new ground.
It was an exciting time before the hippie movement, the psychedelic
era, and the escalation of the Viet Nam War. One of
the things I found particularly interesting in the book is
the history of the Sunset Strip going back to the turn of
the 20th century. That was information that was new
to me.
